A record FIFTEEN player trade in my 36th year league

[Judge Jude]

Rebuilder receives:
AJ Minter 2-S1, Corbin Burnes S2-10, Tommy Edman S-10, Juan Lagares S2-10, Matt Wieters S2-10, and reserved Chris Paddack 15-S2, Francisco Mejia 14-S2, Tyler O'Neill 10-S1, and farmhands Keibert Ruiz and Mitchell White.

Contender receives:
Jon Lester 18-S2, Ross Stripling 12-S2, Trevor Story 15-O, Kyle Schwarber 22-S2, and Russell Martin S2-10.

(rebuilder immediately activated Mejia and dumped Wieters; and 'early activated' Paddack and dumped Minter)

[TranaGreg]

impressive

with a trade like this it would be interesting to know how the discussion evolved (what was first offered vs how it ended up)

[Ken]

Seems like a really long winded way of trading Paddack for Story, Lester, and Schwarber. Most of the players the rebuilder receives really don't even matter - I think he overpaid ... by a lot.

[Judge Jude]

yeah, I haven't digested it yet myself.
but Paddack has lots of allure, for sure

[tinitoy]

You should get minter just in case Luke Jackson fails

[The Dane]

Yes, on the surface this looks like Paddack for three good guys. However, in a deep NL-only, this is not as lop-sided.

Some people are really jazzed about Paddack. I'm not one of them, at least not for now, but I know lots of people are and his stock is super high. That's a prime get, maybe even worth two of those guys all by himself.

Burnes is a real prospect with very high upside, who just isn't ready. And even if he doesn't figure it out, he could be dynamite in the bullpen.

Edman is a prospect as well, has never really struggled at any level, and is ready for MLB ABs now. Little power, little speed guy, with a disciplined approach. He could be handy to have cheap.

Ruiz and White are both solid minor league guys. I rarely target catchers or pitchers in the minors, and if I do grab a pitcher, it'll be in the last round. (The last two years, I took a pitcher in the last round of the RJEL minor league draft. Last year was Jordan Hicks. This year was Mitchell White.)

Personally, I'm iffy on Minter, but he isn't blocked by much and could regain his status pretty quickly.

Mejia is also useful, and if O'Neil ever makes it back, he has some upside.

A lot has to bounce right for this pile to ever equal what he gave away, but if you're a believer, Paddack could do it all by himself as early as 2020. Plus, there are a lot of pieces that a rebuilder could use.

In addition, let's look at what he gave up: Lester's skills are eroding. Story is injured. Schwarber is disappointing. Stripling is in search of a role. And Martin is a thousand years old. If I'm a rebuilder, and a Paddack believer, I'd probably happily give my whole useless team to get him. This guy did that and maybe got a little more too. I don't hate this trade for either side.

[Judge Jude]

interesting, The Dane!
thanks for that.

other dynamics:
- the first-place team (that got farmhands Acuna, Buehler, and Albies from me in 2017 #flagsforever) is up by 20+ points
- there are only three terrible teams, and the dumper here was not quite one of them yet
- the buyer is only mid-pack but could use some bats
- 5 money slots, then 6th gets first farmhand pick yadda yadda last gets 7th pick.

so not a big market on either end, really. 2nd place is pretty lucrative and attainable by many. I'm stuck in the middle.

[pitbull]

Well...years ago there was something like a 21 player trade. My team was in second so the team in 1st literally got 1st place locked up. If there was ever "something smells rotten in the state of Denmark" it was this trade.